The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-17
Once Pronounced Dead, She Receivers After
Twenty housekeeping the Same Posi-
ton for Nine Tears and Seeing Visions.
During Twenty Years She Has Taken
NoFood Except q Little Fruit Juice.
A Case That Has Izong Puzzled Medical Sci
entists-A Striking Contrast at an Opera
HOuse-Free PeWs in Famous Churches.
STRANGER THAN FICTION.

That Scientists Cannot Explain.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, April 16.-As last Molie Fancher
il going to die. For twenty years she has re-
sisted death in the most remarkable way. and
now accident has occurred which the physi-
clans ray will bring the end IN few days Miss
Fancher was lifted. as usual, from her bed in
order to have the linen changed, when the at
tendants accidentally dropped her to the floor.
She struck violently on her head and was rem
dsred senseless. Her extraordinary nervous
constitution was seriously shocked, and the doc
tors who have had charge of her case for long
time declare that she cannot recover.
If Miss Fancher and her family had been
willing to have her wonderful history generally
known. or made the subject of scientific inquiry.
the world would have been divided into two fac
tions, and every body would have been parti-
san of one side or the other; for such are the
circumstances that no one could have failed to
hear of them. One faction would have insisted
that there was trickery and deception involved
IN the case. ard thus dismissed it with contempt;
the other would have declared it the most
founding, mysterious disorder ever known. AS
it is, the facts that are admitted are enough to
cause bitter dissensiors in the medical profess
sion, and to cause laymen to marvel
when they learn them. And by admitted
facts is meant those that are authenticated
beyond disbelief. If there were not physicians
of good repute and clereymen to attest them,
they would have strong circumstantial corrob-
Grafton in the fact that the family has steadily
avoided any scheme that would lead to the noto-
rety of the unfortunate woman, much less to
any financial profit that might be derived from
awakening interest in her.
Here Is a brief resume of her history: In 1867
Miss Fancher, then eighteen years old, was the
victim of two or three accidents Once she was
thrown from horse, and at another time fell
from street-car and was badly bruised. The
last affair injured her spine and as a partial re-
suit, she has been confined to her bed ever since.
Her parents were dead. but she found the most
constant care at the hands of relatives. The
best physicians were summoned to attend her.
most Of whom are now living to attest the
strange development of her disorder Her nerv-
Gus system seemed to be literally wrecked
She had long and frantic nervous commissions, in
which she apparently suffered excrucating ag-
ony. She came out Of these spasms insensbe,
and would lie passive for time until
the chaotic agitatons began again. Nothing
that was done for her produced any favorable
effect, and the physicians believed that she would
presently die from the violence of her suffer
ings. But after passing through several times
more than would have been accepted as sufficient
to cause death in ordinary people, it began to
| appear that her senses were, one by one, leaving
her. Sight, hearing and feeling departed, and
her periods of rest became longer and more fire.
in of
declared dead, but her friends did not accept the
| decision, and watched her patiently and anx-
! iously for twenty days. Al the expiration of
| that time she returned to life and consciousness
Her power of speech was restored, as we'll as her
other faculties. and she told strange stories OF
what she had experienced during her cataleptic
condition. After few days she went into an
other trance, hut it did not last long The SEM
| blance to death was even more marked than
| formerly, and the return to life was as sudden
and unexpected. These occurrences were all
within the first two months of her illness, and
perhaps the strangest fact of all is that in this
| time she took no nourishment whatever Dr.
| S. Fleet Spier the chief physician in charge
| of her case, and he has continued to be until this
day. He took pains to drop in when he was not
/
ministered emetics, and the result invariably
| proved that Miss Fancher had eaten nothing To
| remarkable extent this fast has continued ever
since. AT the end of the two months she could
retain small quantity of light food, but dur
ing the twenty years that have elapsed it is said
on good authority that she has not eaten enough
| to keep baby alive for a week.
| One day early in her illness she went into a
| rig i'd trance with her head resting on her right
| arm. The trance endured four days but it was
| nine years before she modified her attitude or
the position of her limbs During this period
she had many frances, but when she came out of
them the power of speech returned to her, and
she conversed intelligently with her friends.
She told graphic tales OF visions Of the conven-
tional paradise. streets of gold, shining white
angels, heavenly harpers, and the like, and she
insisted that her angel friends were with he,
constantly. In many respects she spoke after
the manner of spirituastlc mediums; and deliv-
cred messages from departed friends to the lv
ing. But no report of this was allowed to &c
| from the house for years. and Miss Fancher
even expressed mild aversion to deliberate ex.
periments in the way of communing with de
parted friends. This, in fact, has been her atti
perfectly willing to tell what she saw, but die
not believe in inducing deliberately the return
| of her strange experiences, or the exercise o1
her my sterious faculties For as her disease de-
veloped during the nine years she exhibited 9
faculty called, for the lack of better name
second sight. The stories told about hel
powers in this direction approach the abso,
lutely fabulous, but many of them are so we'll
authenticated that they cannot be entirely re
jected She never opened her eyes. but If sh
had it would not have assisted her in repeatin e
the contents of an unopened letter just brought
in from the postoffice. That feat has been
common one with her. But however much ere
denee NAV be inclined to place in such anec
dotes, the scientific data equally remarka
bic. Her ordinary faculties came and went il
the utmost disorder. One day she could talk
move all her body except the right arm unde
her head. taste and feel; without warning one o.
all of these faculties would leave her. 1t nigh
be that she ceased talking in the midst of sen
tence, or that she ceased to hear. or to feel, o
all these three together: and, in addition, nigh
come rieidity of the body. death dampnes
all over her. and all the appearance of a corpse
This might endure several days. and meantime
the only sign of life. but good one, would be
faint beating of the heart. She became THU